“I even tried to sign him on loan at Hamburg. He’d played 20 games without winning at Spurs but they knew he was an exciting player. They did well to keep him.”

Jol also stated ahead of facing Bale and Spurs that he was annoyed at his side’s lack of football recently, with the game at White Hart Lane their second and final match of the month.

“It was very annoying to only have two games this month,” he admitted. “It’s not what you want. It’s better to keep your rhythm.

“We’ve got pretty much the same squad as before. We’ve had no more problems. Steve Sidwell is back after missing out at Sunderland and will be in the squad. Mahamadou Diarra is still out long term. The rest are all fit.”

Despite Spurs playing a gruelling 120 minutes in their eventual Europa League win over Inter on Thursday, Jol is not counting on tiredness being a problem for the hosts.

“They’ve got a bit squad and won’t have any problems,” he continued. “Aaron Lennon had been injured but came on for a few minutes so that will be positive for them.”